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Quietly efficient

NoleSports.com editor;
Published 11:00 p.m. ET Dec. 23, 2013

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Devonta Freeman is averaging just over 6 yards per carry for the Seminoles.(Photo: MIKE EWEN/DEMOCRAT)Buy Photo

Despite what you may have read or heard about so far in the build-up to the BCS national title game, there will be more than one rushing attack on the field in Pasadena on Jan. 6.

The Auburn ground game has gotten the vast majority of headlines and attention so far, which is understandable of course. The Tigers are averaging a nation-leading 335.7 yards per game rushing and are coming off a staggering 545-yard effort against Missouri in the SEC Championship game.

But it’s not like Florida State’s rushing attack should be considered an afterthought.

The Seminoles are averaging 207.4 yards per game on the ground (27th in the nation) and that number is even more impressive considering how productive Jameis Winston and the Florida State passing attack has been this year.

“I mean, we have a Heisman quarterback,” FSU junior running back James Wilder, Jr. said with a laugh.

“It’s hard to talk about the running backs when you have a Heisman quarterback. So, yeah, Jameis is doing his thing. The backs … we’re not really the guys that care if we get attention or not.”

Because Winston and the FSU passing game has been so spectacular, the Seminoles’ rushing game has been largely overshadowed in 2013. And because Auburn is leading the nation in rushing yards, that shadow has grown even larger the last few weeks.

But the reality is that, behind one of the best offensive lines in the country, the Florida State running backs have put together a spectacular season of their own.

The trio of Devonta Freeman, Karlos Williams and Wilder have combined for 2,190 yards and 32 touchdowns on 326 attempts – an average of 6.7 yards per carry.

By comparison, the Auburn offense is averaging 6.5 yards per attempt.

Freeman is 57 yards away from 1,000 for the season – a feat that hasn’t been accomplished at FSU since Warrick Dunn in 1996 – while Williams is averaging 8.2 yards per carry and Wilder is at 6.9 per attempt.

Florida State, of course, has a balanced attack.

The Seminoles have rushed the ball on 54 percent of its plays this season, while Auburn runs the ball on 72 percent of its snaps.

So the fact that the Seminole running backs have still been able to combine for 32 touchdowns and well over 2,000 yards speaks to just how productive the FSU running game has been when called upon.

Williams, who is in his first year on offense after spending his first two seasons at safety, was asked if the FSU running backs thought they were as good as any group in the country.

“Inside that room we do feel that way,” said Williams, who is averaging a touchdown every 7.9 carries. “We’re all good backs. We’re all capable of running the football, we’re all capable of being a starting back if we have to be a starting back.

“But we all know that everybody’s going to get carries, they’re going to get their reps. So we root for that guy when he’s in the game. We worry about cheering that guy on.”

And scoring touchdowns. Lots of touchdowns.

Despite getting 202 less attempts than the Auburn offense on the ground, the FSU attack has scored just five fewer rushing touchdowns than the Tigers.

In fact, the Seminoles’ total of 41 rushing touchdowns is seventh best in the country. Not bad for an offense that also happens to feature a Heisman winner at quarterback.

Certainly not bad for a rushing attack that has been largely overshadowed by the opponent’s.

“We don’t really pay attention to it like that,” Wilder said. “We don’t really look at it, we know they have a great running game and we know we have a great defense. So it’s not nothing we’re worried about or anything.”